Ace of Hearts
by gingaloid
Summary: Some would say it's wrong. They would say it's just falling in love. Life is full of unexpected events, and sometimes, the heart just wants what it wants. **Rated T because I'm always cautious about my ratings.**


_**A/N:**_I know, this is a really weird ship, and it's not wemma. But I ship (crack!ship?) St. Pillsbury pretty hard. Almost as hard as wemma. That being said, I know that many people have different opinions, and that is cool, but please do not review with hateful comments, should you read this. I get that it's a very rare ship, and I mainly just wrote this to have fun and as a favor to a friend of mine. :) I am currently working on Willow Jane Chapter 9 as well, but this was a little creativity break sort of project! R&R loved, but please be kind! Also, thank you, Tori, for editing! -Tayma_  
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Ace of Hearts

_Footsteps sounded quietly through the empty hallways of McKinley High School, each step sounding slightly closer. The thick soles of his boots left quiet 'thunk, thunk, thunks' echoing behind him the closer he got to her destination. He was eager to see her despite his emotional restrictions. He was in a relationship; a more or less loving relationship with a wonderful, though controlling, person. She lived in New York. At least, that was the story he told everyone when they asked how someone so handsome managed to have a difficult time finding someone. Truthfully, he had found someone. A perfect someone. A smile broke across his face as he came to stop outside of her office, his eyes falling on her delicate form through the office's window wall. _

_Her red hair was softly curled, much longer than it used to be two years ago. Every so often, a stray curled lock would fall to her eyes and she'd blow absent-mindedly, momentarily removing it from her face before finally reaching up to tuck the lock back in place. Her delicate fingers wrapped around a pen, her hand flying across a sheet of paper, filling the lines with her meticulous handwriting. Her lower lip pulled back between her teeth, the pearly white set sinking into her soft, baby pink lower lip, and all he could think was how sweet her lips tasted. She didn't wear lipstick most days, and gloss was out of the question because it was sticky and thick. She was perfect. She was beautiful. And secretly, she was all his._

Emma heard a light knock on her opened office door and looked up, a smile spreading over her lips. Her eyes fell on the man before her, and it was hard for her not to give him a once-over. His curly brown hair was perfectly mussed as always, his blue eyes sparkling when the smile on his lips reached his eyes. His handsome face gazed upon her with an intensity that only she understood; there was a hint of need and protectiveness behind it that made Emma shiver slightly. Her eyes traveled down up, noting his black t-shirt hugging his well-toned chest. Some would argue that the shirt was too tight, but Emma liked it and knew why he wore it. They couldn't be together openly during days, but they each did small things for the other's benefit. Her skirts were slightly shorter, and she wore less make up, knowing he appreciated her natural beauty and wished she didn't make herself artificial so much. Finally, her eyes moved to his dark denim jeans which hugged his hips loosely, and Emma knew they accentuated just the right amount of ass from the back while still keeping things modest. A perfect fit.

Her once over was interrupted by a clearing of the throat, "Miss Pillsbury?" He was smirking.

Dammit. Never in her life had being called something so simple been so annoying. 'Emma,' she wanted to say, 'Stop calling me Miss Pillsbury. Call me Emma.' But she couldn't say that and he couldn't call her anything but Miss Pillsbury, at least not here and now. Not when she feared the risk of being caught, should they become too familiar in the work place. She swallowed and set her pen down, gesturing for him to come in.

"Mister St. James." Her voice was cool; casual. "What brings you by?"

He stepped forward and her breath caught in her chest gently, her eyes darting up to his. _Click_. Amber on blue and nothing else mattered. She longed for him to reach forward, hold her face as gently as he had the night before, then kiss her lips and wrap his arms around her and tell her that he loved her, which he hadn't done yet.

But this was school. This was her workplace.

He held up a folder. "From Mister Schuester. He wanted me to run our set list by you for Regionals." He moved over to her desk and set the folder in front of her, opening it on the desk before her. He rested one hand on the desk and leaned forward on it, his free hand moving to run over her back gently. She tensed beneath his hand, but didn't recoil, her eyes focusing determinedly on the papers in front of her. "He's listed all of our numbers, as well as who is singing lead in the ballad and who has solos. He says if there's something you think should be altered or a song you'd suggest instead of one of our current three, to make a note. Your input is important."

He was so close. She could smell his cologne emanating off of his perfectly toned body and she just wanted to bury her face in his shoulder. Her head bobbed in a small nod. "I'll, uhm," she cleared her throat. "I'll do just that and get it back to him after school." His hand on her back was burning. _Please, leave, s_he begged internally, glancing at him out of the corner of her eye. Bad idea. His face was just a couple of inches from hers. A simple turn of the head and their lips could brush. As if reading her mind, Jesse turned his face towards hers, his eyes boring into hers.

"Sounds perfect." An eyebrow twitched up and he smirked again. His eyes darted towards the clock. Two minutes until the halls would be filled with students and staff, prying eyes ogling at the neat and tidy counselor through her window. If only they knew how relaxed she could be. His eyes returned to hers and he leaned forward. As if by magnetism, Emma's face turned towards his, their lips moving together in a sweet kiss. His hand on her back slipped slightly lower and she sighed against his lips, wishing she could beg for more, but knowing she couldn't. Not now. Too soon, their lips were broken apart and she gazed up at him with a smile. "I'll let him know you'll be by at the end of the day."

Just like that, he was standing straight, hand off of her back and in his back pocket as he strode to the office door, stepping out and glancing back at her. "Looking good today, Miss Pillsbury." He winked before heading off towards Mister Schuester's office again. Being a teacher's aide had its perks.

Emma watched him go, working to catch her breath and slow her heart from racing out of her chest. She wanted to call him back and tell him to stay with her. The spot where his hand had just rested on her back felt cool in a very unwelcomed manner. Her lips throbbed slightly, wanting more contact and she ran her tongue over them gently, looking down at the list in front of her. She could taste him on her lips; he tasted like those soft peppermints that he was eating all the time. It just made her want him more. Shaking her head slightly, she refocused on the list in front of her, reading through everything on the page, making minor notes where she felt comfortable, but Will knew what he was doing, as did Jesse.

Will. Sometimes Emma longed for the days when she was with Will and things were simple. Back before everything was complicated with Shelby and April and Holly and their only road bump was Terri and a fake pregnancy. Now there was too much mess between them, and though it would be smarter to love him and want to be loved by him, everything changed when Jesse came to assist him permanently. At first, it was a small tickle in the back of her mind, a few butterflies in her belly when the young man was around, but it grew into something much bigger, and it got in the way. Will just assumed he and Emma grew apart and they were on perfect terms, still the best of friends. She worried that would change, though, should he find out the real reason behind her distance. She didn't think he'd be all too understanding of her dating a young man who was at one point their student for part of a school year. A very small part, but a part none the less.

She pushed the thoughts of Will and Jesse out of her mind and glanced at the clock. Three more hours of school, then a special Friday SAT Prep session before the SAT the following morning. She could make it that long, and then she could go home and relax and allow her mind to wander all it wanted.

-x-x-x-

When seven o'clock rolled around, Emma Pillsbury was just tripping into her house, exhausted from her day. Fridays always seemed the most exhausting to her, and she figured it was due to knowing there were only a few short hours separating her from forty-eight hours of blissful relaxation and cleaning. She leaned against her front door for a moment once inside before heaving herself up and setting her bag on the table by the door. She put her keys in the bowl and her shoes in the hall closet. Her nimble fingers ran through her hair as she walked to the kitchen, and only then did she notice something was different.

Her apartment smelled…amazing. The table was set immaculately with a place setting for two and a bottle of wine rested uncorked in the center next to two burning candles. Furrowing her eyebrows, she cautiously walked through to the kitchen, ready to demand an explanation from whoever the hell was in her house, but her confused look turned to one of love and comprehension upon realizing who was cooking at her stove.

"Isn't this a surprise?" She asked, leaning against the island countertop in the center of the space, her eyes on the tightly clothed shoulders of her…what, exactly was he? They hadn't labeled their relationship, which was possibly dangerous emotionally. Emma was in love with the twenty-two year old, she knew that for certain. What if that wasn't what this was for him?

Jesse turned around, smiling widely at the presence of Emma. Dinner momentarily abandoned, he walked over to her, his waist wrapped in her pink apron. "Hi." He said, stepping up to her and kissing her lips gently, one hand cupping her cheek.

She kissed him back eagerly, rising up onto her toes to press her lips against his more, needing that contact. When he pulled away, she smiled up at him. "Hi." Her eyes were sparkling.

They shared a moment lost in each other's eyes before Jesse broke contact, moving to the stove to stir the boiling pasta. Tasting a strand and realizing it was done, he moved the pot to the sink, pouring the pasta into a caulendar. "I missed you after our little meeting." His lips turned into a smirk as he returned the strained pasta to its pot, moving to open the can and add the sauce.

"That…well, first of all that was wildly inappropriate. We were at work and someone could have seen." Emma's head bobbed in a small nod. "Secondly – and most importantly – it was teasing, and I don't like teasing." She paused, watching him cook. "Thirdly, and sort of unrelated, what is all this? Why are you making dinner and how did you get in here?"

"First of all, we were living on the edge, Ace." Ace. It was a nickname that he came up with to describe Emma at the very beginning of their relationship. She was lucky for the New Directions and lucky in the sense that she was special. Aces were hard to come by in card games, and when you got one, you held onto it tight because it was most valuable. Most precious. That was Emma to him. Jesse finished stirring the pasta and moved to get two bowls. He filled each with a proper portion of pasta with pesto, then added a healthy serving of sautéed vegetables on top. Completely dairy free, just how his girl liked it, and completely delicious. "Secondly, I don't look at it as teasing. I look at it as a preview of what is to come. And thirdly," he turned, putting the forks into the bowls and taking them to the table, Emma following after him close on his heels. "This is dinner for the woman I care about most. I got in here with the spare key you had me use to check on everything while you were away at conference last month."

Emma nodded, following him through to the dining room. She sat when he pulled out her chair and accepted his offer of wine. He sat across from her and they began eating in silence, sipping wine and sharing glances. Dinner was amazing; Emma never would have guessed that he cooked so well, but they'd made meals for each other a few times, and Emma learned he was very skilled in the culinary aspect of things. Perfect compliments of each other – she baked and he cooked.

"Dinner was so good, Jesse." Emma said as they finished off the wine. Both of them finished eating long ago, but enjoyed the silent company the other provided.

He smiled genuinely, something that was rare, even for Emma. Usually he smirked, which Emma found just as sexy and satisfying, but something about the full smile made her stomach flutter more than usual. "I'm glad you enjoyed it. I put a lot of thought into it."

"I can tell. It was completely dairy free and had all of my favorite vegetables." She smiled widely. "Who knew that you were such a good listener, Mister St. James?"

"I knew." He winked and stood, smirk returning to his lips as he cleared the table. When Emma stood to help, he shook his head. "I don't think so, Emma. You go relax. I'll be done quickly, and then I need to talk to you." He collected all of the dishes and disappeared into the kitchen, Emma left sitting curiously.

What could he want to talk about? Was this about to end? That could be why he made her such a special dinner, right? He wanted to give one last gesture before telling her they couldn't go on any longer. He found someone his own age – Emma was waiting for that to happen, in all honesty. She knew there could come a day where he found a cute twenty year old and wanted a relationship with hers that could be shared in the open, rather than a secret relationship with a thirty-two year old woman. She wouldn't be hurt if that was what he chose, but by the time she made her way to her bedroom and laid down, she'd worked herself into a frenzy, trying to figure out what Jesse would want to talk to her about. Every single scenario just ended in him leaving her. It worried her.

_Maybe I would be hurt_, she confessed to herself with a sigh. She closed her eyes and took a few deep breaths, turning on her side to 'relax.' A while later, Emma felt the other side of the bed sink down and a pair of warm arms wrapped around her and pulled her close. "Hey…" he breathed into her hear, pressing a kiss to the side of her face gently.

"Hi." She said quietly. "You can just say it, if you're ending…whatever this is…you can just say it."

Jesse laughed a little bit and shook his head, pressing his cheek against hers gently. "What are you talking about, Emma?"

Her arms snaked over his, holding them close to her abdomen. "I know you're a younger guy, and there are plenty of younger girls out there, and if you decide you want that instead of me, that's fine. Just say it and don't drag it out, please." She heaved a small sigh and closed her eyes.

"I'm not ending this." Jesse held her tighter, his voice tickling her neck from the vibrations in his vocal chords.

"You're not?"

"No. I'd need something stronger than Sondheim to express my inner melancholia should this end between us." Sondheim. That was how Emma knew this was serious; she'd heard Rachel talk about the importance of Sondheim's in Jesse's life more time than once when in her office during her Sophomore year.

"Then…then why the super nice dinner, and telling me to relax because you 'need to talk to me'?" She twisted her head slightly to look at him. His lips were pursed as he tried to hold back a laugh.

"May I start by saying you've had some classy break ups, Emma, but I am not that classy when it comes to breaking hearts." He moved to pull one of his arms away from her and she whined slightly, tugging on his arm. He laughed, pulling from her delicate fingers and reaching into his pocket. He pulled out a long white box, wrapping his arm back around Emma and showing it to her. "For you."

Emma pulled away from him, turning to lay on her back and look up at him. She took the box in her hands gently, looking at it. Jesse shifted so he was laying on his side next to her, head propped on one hand, the other resting on her stomach. "Go on, Ace. Open it."

Hesitantly, she opened the box to reveal a necklace. It was a small heart with a small, sparkly 'J' in the center. The heart hung on a delicate chain. Emma's eyes took in the sight and she blinked a few times, taking a deep breath and shaking her head a bit.

"Today is seven months of whatever you want to call this." Jesse laughed, using her terminology. When she remained silent, he worried she didn't appreciate the gift. "Do you like it?"

Emma nodded. "I love it." She looked at him, suddenly registering his first statement. "Seven months…you've been counting?" She smiled adorably, curious about his counting.

Jesse's head bobbed into a nod and he sat, pulling Emma with him. He pulled the necklace out of the box and moved behind her, placing the necklace on her and clasping it. His lips pressed a tender kiss to the nape of her neck where the clasp fell. "Yes, I've been counting." Another kiss to the side of her neck. "I don't know what you consider this." A kiss to her shoulder. "But I consider us together." He moved in front of Emma and settled himself between her legs. Another kiss, this time to her lips. "And on anniversaries, I think that warrants something special." His lips pressed against hers gently and she fell back against the pillows, pulling him down with her. Her legs wrapped around his waist gently and her fingers worked their way into his hair as they shared a heated embrace.

Minutes later, they broke apart, each in dire need of air. Their eyes found each other and Emma took a deep breath, smiling widely. "Seven months. That makes you my boyfriend."

Jesse laughed and flashed her one of his genuine smiles. "And you are my beautiful girlfriend." He kissed her a few more times before moving to rest his head on her chest gently. He listened to her heart beating for a moment. Emma's arms wrapped around him and she ran her fingers through his hair, her breathing regulating along with Jesse's. Minutes later, their breathing was in perfect sync, and they rose and fell against each other, Jesse listening to Emma's heart; Emma listening to Jesse's breaths.

"Emma?" Jesse closed his eyes. This was going to be pushing it, he was sure, but they'd been together for seven months. It was now or never. Tell her the truth now and let her run, or tell her the truth now and welcome her closer. She deserved to know the truth of his feelings while she could still get out without there being _too_ much damage.

"Mhm?" Her eyes were closed as well, her fingers continuing their circuit through his hair. This was so warm, so perfect. She could live in this moment right now and never have a complaint in the world.

"…I love you."

It was quiet, so quiet, spoken against her chest as his face lazily fell against her. He felt the hands in his hair freeze and he cursed his eagerness. Her hands moved to cup his face and she scooted down, opening her eyes and waiting for him to open his before she spoke.

"W-What?"

He licked his lips gently. "I love you, Emma. I know it's probably crazy because we've got a ten year age difference, and you're probably looking for someone different for something permanent, but I don't care. The heart wants what it wants, and my heart wants yours."

Emma nodded a little bit before leaning up to kiss him gently, passionately, lovingly. "I love you, too." She mumbled against his lips and she felt him relax against her body and melt into the kiss. She smiled lazily against his lips. This is exactly what she'd been wishing for all day at school. Just a moment alone with her boyfriend. Sweet, intimate, completely content being together, uninterrupted happiness.

His warm hands slid up beneath her shirt, caressing the silky skin of her abdomen. That was as far as he ever went, knowing that Emma was a cautious woman. Even still, it never bothered him. The fact that he was allowed to touch her there at all was more than satisfying for him, even in this moment. Just because they professed their love, it didn't mean they had to make love, and Jesse and Emma were both content with that knowledge that moment.

Half an hour later, Jesse pulled away, looking at the clock on Emma's bedside table and sighed a bit. He generally left around ten to give Emma her space. He was never asked to leave, but he did it as a gentlemanly gesture. He would never force his presence on Emma unless she wanted it. Testing boundaries with her was not something he wanted. Being with her in a loving, committed relationship – that was all he ever wanted from her, and that is exactly what he was getting.

"I should go." He said, his usual hint of sadness at leaving the beautiful woman in his voice, but a brilliant smile on his face suggesting he was happy to give her space.

Her head shook. "No…stay." She said quietly, looking up at him. "You leave every time at ten, and I don't have a problem with it if you really want to leave, but you're more than welcome to stay over, Jesse."

"Alright." There was no need for hesitation.

"Alright?"

He nodded. Emma smiled.

She climbed out of bed and went to her closet to change into one of her nightgowns, taking a deep breath. Will was the only man she ever _really _felt comfortable around in her nightgowns, and she hoped she would have that same feeling of security with Jesse. When she emerged from the closet, Jesse was laying under the covers, hands behind his head.

"I folded my clothes neatly and put them on the hamper lid in the bathroom. I will be sure to take them in the morning." He smiled.

Emma laughed and shook her head. "You sure are something else, Jesse St. James." She crawled into bed next to him and he held his arms open for her. She fell into them and he shifted them so her back was against his chest and they were spooning in the middle of the bed. Jesse's arms wrapped tightly around her middle and his head rested against hers, cheek-to-cheek, just like earlier.

"If you get uncomfortable, let me know, Ace."

Emma shook her head, holding his arms gently. "Oh, no. I'm perfect right where I am." The pair fell silent for a few minutes, their breathing falling into sync again. Jesse thought for sure Emma was asleep when she muttered, almost asleep, "I love you, Jesse."

One of his rare smiles broke out on his face and he pressed a kiss to her cheek. "I love you, too, Emma."

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**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Emma Pillsbury or Jesse St. James. I don't own any characters mentioned in this story - they all belong to the world of Glee, created by Ryan Murphy.**


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